Cheap flights to Zante

Advert beaches, rolling green countryside and traditional mountain villages; Zante is Greece at its very best. The Venetians used to call it the “flower of the east,” and any tourist who sets foot on the Greek island of Zante, or Zakynthos as it is known in Greece, will immediately understand why.

Today it’s as famous for its lush green vegetation and colourful wild flowers as it is for its tourist resorts and thumping nightlife. Of course, this is ignoring the 92 kilometres of pristine coastline complete with some of the world’s best beaches – check out the jaw-dropping turquoise beauty of Smugglers’ Cove, one of the most photographed bays in the world.

Let’s just say if it’s stunning scenery you’re after, then Zante has it in abundance. But it’s also got a large slice of traditional Greek culture too. So if you like your mountain villages quaint and small, your churches old and fresco filled and your tavernas offering moussaka with a glass or two of ouzo to wash it down, then you’ll be spoilt for choice. And let’s not forget that hospitality for which the Greeks have been famous throughout history, trust us, the locals of Zante don’t disappoint.

Shopping

September 2014
A couple of scuba-diving operations at chilled Limni Keriou beach will take you out to the rockier end of Laganas Bay. If you're lucky, you may well spot a turtle (Turtle Beach Diving Centre, diving-center-turtle-beach.com).

Key Areas

September 2014
The traditional mountain village of Volimes in the north of the island is a great place for picking up souvenirs, especially expertly woven and embroidered rugs, bags and the like.

Day Trips

June 2014
A great day trip that will allow you to admire one of Greece's most famous ancient sites is to Olympia on the Peloponnesian mainland across from the island, original home of the Olympic Games. Various agencies organise good-value trips.